Sewickley Parish Aids North Dakota
Diocesan Press Service. October 1, 1962 [III-4]
The centennial of St. Stephen's Church in Sewickley, Pa. (Diocese of Pittsburgh), will be long remembered almost 1,400 miles away in Bowman, North Dakota. Preferring to think of their anniversary years 1962-64 as the beginning of an era of service rather than an end, St. Stephen's centennial committee decided that they should take a substantial portion of their church's substance, combine it with their spiritual consciousness, and invest it in a corner of God's Kingdom where the need was great.
Their search led them to St. Luke's Mission in Bowman, North Dakota, where services were being held in the basement of St. Luke's Hospital, and a church and parish hall were desperately needed for this town of 1600 people which serves an area of 6300 miles with a population of 7000. St. Stephen's saw in Bowman an opportunity for a slow but steady growth, not unlike that which has characterized their own parish, and unanimously decided to contribute $30,000 for the expansion of St. Luke's Mission.
St. Stephen's most exciting project has had the support of the Rt. Rev. Arthur Lichtenberger, the Rt. Rev. Daniel Corrigan of the Home Department of the National Council and the Rt. Rev. Richard R. Emery, Bishop of the Missionary District of North Dakota. Bishop Lichtenberger plans to visit Sewickley during the centennial celebrations. The Rector of St. Stephen's is the Rev. Benedict Williams, D.D.